Fancy Feast vs Purina Pro Plan

When we are talking about our furry friends, we are certainly always looking for the best way to care for them, and food is a very important factor to raise a cat with good health.
One important information that we need to know about cats, is that they are obligate carnivores, which means that they need muscle-based meats in their diets.
Based on that, there are rules and standards that the brands need to follow, in order to insure the necessary amount of nutrients for the pet.
According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content.
The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.
The proteins break down into amino acids, which are burned for energy or used to make new proteins and keep the metabolism healthy.
Fat helps with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, reduce inflammation associated with arthritis and aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.
Besides the right nutritional content, they must be approved on the feeding test, that evaluates the digestibility and absorption of nutrients in live animals.
All food brands passed those tests to be commercialized, now what you have to do is choose between canned or dry food.
First of all, what is the difference between dry and wet food, and which one is better based on your cat need, essentially both food are nutritionally complete but each one contains certains particularities.

Dry food

• Is more economical
• Is convenient because you can leave it out and it doesn‰Ûªt spoil as easily
• Is energy dense, meaning a cat can consume lots of calories quickly
• Has about 10% moisture content
• Tends to have more carbohydrates and less protein than wet food
• May be only slightly better than canned food at preventing dental disease

In the wild, carbohydrates are only about five percent of a cat‰Ûªs diet, and many low-quality dry foods contain a lot of fillers, used as a cost-savings, since they‰Ûªre a cheaper ingredient than meat, therefore cats that eat only dry food are more prone to obesity and diabetes.
This type of food has only 10% of its content made of water, this way cats may become chronically dehydrated, which contributes to health problems like Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) and urinary crystals.
If you feed your cat dry food, it should drink approximately one cup of water for every ten pounds of body weight in a 24-hour period in order to prevent the dehydration.

Canned Food

• Is more expensive
• Can spoil more easily and requires refrigeration after opening
• Is less energy dense than dry food
• Has up to 78% moisture content
• Tends to have more fat and protein – especially animal protein – and fewer carbohydrates than dry food

Today we brought two types of food that coincidentally are from the same company.
Have you noticed that both Pro Plan and Fancy Feast are Purina companies?
Both are premium food, and comparable in price.
If you are as concerned with your pet as we are, here are some informations you should know about when choosing between these two.

Purina Pro Plan vs. Fancy Feast

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Purina Pro Plan guarantees 7.85% more protein than Fancy Feast dry cat food recipes.
For wet cat foods, Fancy Feast typically provides a little more protein (about 3.88% more).

Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

Purina Pro Plan and Fancy Feast dry food both provide roughly the same amount of crude fat.
For wet cat foods, Purina Pro Plan provides more fat (about 4.26% more).

Crude Fiber Comparison For Cat Food

There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet cat food, Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

Fancy Feast Pet Food Ingredients vs. Purina Pro Plan Pet Food Ingredients

Fancy Feast and Purina Pro Plan both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

– Liver
– Poultry
– Brewers Rice
– Wheat Gluten
– Animal Digest
– Soybean Flour
– Vegetable Oil
– Poultry Giblets
– Corn Gluten Meal
– Meat By-Products
– Whole Grain Corn
– Poultry By-Products
– Chicken By-Product Meal
– Poultry By-Product Meal
– Soybean Protein Concentrate
– Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Fancy Feast:

– Soybean Protein

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Purina Pro Plan:

– Canola Oil
– Canola Meal
– Pea Protein
– Ground Wheat
– Caramel Color
– Garlic Powder
– Soybean Hulls
– Corn Germ Meal
– Dried Corn Syrup
– Whole Grain Wheat
– Ground Yellow Corn
– Powdered Cellulose
– Chicken By-Products
– Soybean Protein Isolate

Product Safety: Recall History of Fancy Feast & Purina Pro Plan

Fancy Feast has never been recalled.

Purina Pro Plan has been recalled once : March 9, 2016: Incorrect Vitamins and Minerals

Overall the decision of which food to buy will come down to personal preference (yours and your cat‰Ûªs!) but certainly feeding decisions should be made in consultation with a veterinarian.